"Great sunshine and mild wind helped make this a very good hike. There was 2-4" of new snow, with 1-2' drifts in some summit areas. Crystal clear views of Mt Washington and the presis from all 3 summits. The lower section of the Avalon trail lost a lot of snow to a rain storm the day before. But everything above the second water crossing was great for snowshoes. Took part in the annual Christmas Bird Count. Chickadees, Nuthatches, Gray jays and one Gold crowned kinglet and one Evening grosbeak." — Alohabuffy • Dec 20, 2025

"First of 4 mountains today on a beautiful fall day by myself. Started off near the AMC Center. A pretty leafy trail that changed to small boulders. Then there was the endless boulder field! The hardest part of the day! Took the slight detour up Avalon. The views were super! Slight color change. " — lfrancois • Sep 18, 2025

"Participated in the annual AMC Christmas bird count. Tom, Field, and Avalon was our designated route. But do to the 'fowl' weather, only 2 chickadees and a hairy woodpecker showed up. Not even a single gray jay. Weather conditions were tough. It snowed most of the time with temps hovering around 10 F. Gusting winds blew snow everywhere." — Alohabuffy • Dec 21, 2024

"Bluebird day, relatively low temperates in Crawford Notch which, combined with some wind, made it a little chilly at the base. The trees kept everything at a nice temperature throughout the hike, however. I set off from the Crawford Notch Depot at 9:45am, crossed over the train tracks, and entered the woods on the Avalon Trail. After one stream crossing utilizing a couple of logs as a bridge, the trail splits in two. I took the left path called the Cascade Loop which offers a few views of waterfalls along the Crawford Brook. This path meets back up with the Avalon Trail after about 0.2 miles. This section of the trail is quite moderate, rising about 900 feet in 1.5 miles. There was one stream crossing that required walking through some very shallow water. Luckily it hadn't rained in several days and the water was maybe an inch high, but I can imagine this crossing would be much wetter after precipitation. The Avalon Trail heads off to the left after 1.5 miles and I continued straight onto the A-Z Trail. After a cool stream crossing that was essentially a small bridge over the edge of a ravine, the trail gains elevation quickly, particularly on the final ascent to the ridge. The Mt...." — JCalautti • Aug 30, 2024

"The promised sunny skies never appeared and we spent the entirety of the hike socked in. Winds were forecasted to be 30-45 mph but were only around 15. Spikes were the preferred method of traction today." — Alohabuffy • Dec 15, 2023

"The temps were pretty hot (80s) at the trailhead but much cooler in the forest and at elevation. Still had a very steamy and sticky feel. Never got a great cooling breeze at the top. Hit Avalon on the way up and Tom on the way down." — Alohabuffy • Jul 5, 2023

"Embarked from the trailhead at the AMC Highland Center around 7:45 am. Microspikes weren't enough, had to put on snowshoes right away to pack down the freshly coated trail. Steep ascent from the start to hit the first peak (Avalon). A hazy and cloudy morning led to limited views at each of the peaks, albeit plenty of lookouts at each of the summits. The sun came out eventually, but the lower clouds remained all day. After Avalon, we made our way through Field to Willey, back through Field and over to Tom. Plenty of hikers on the trail today, fed a few Gray Jays along the way too. Sliding down the steep parts on the way back to the trailhead made the return easier (and fun). Gained 4200 ft in elevation in 9.9 miles over 7 hours." — gregoryskiba • Jan 22, 2023

"So so weather at the trailhead, windy. But in the forest it was nice. Tons of snow, great snowshoe conditions. Pretty cloudy and wind on the summit. Presis fading in and out. Awesome butt sledding off Avalon down to the cutoff." — Alohabuffy • Mar 2, 2022

"Amazing day, my first peaks in New Hampshire. Started at the train tracks like most folks. This loop does not mess around, ballpark 10 miles and the clockwise loop where you hit Avalon first is straight up for 3/4 of a mile, and that's not an exaggeration. The views are amazing." — puddlepirate • Jul 24, 2021

"A nice sunny day in the mountains. Zero degrees at the trailhead but around 20 atop the ridge. But no wind was a really nice deal. Not quite enough snow to wear snowshoes on all the terrain. So some shoes and some spikes. Great views from Willey, Field and Avalon." — Alohabuffy • Dec 19, 2020